Ah Borneo, the name for me summons visions of exotic jungles, wildlife, beaches or mountains. And who knew Borneo was the third largest island in the world, somewhat bizarrely split between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the tiny sultanate of Brunei. We have decided to focus on the Malaysian side of Borneo as it’s a bit more tourist friendly and jumping between both sides actually involves a lot more travel and flights. Seeing more of less is still our favorite way.
The 13,500 foot Mount Kinabalu shows itself only briefly most morningsOur first sunset view in Kota Kinabalu or KK as the the locals refer to it.
We also vividly recall our great three week trip to peninsular Malaysia about 10 years ago. So as we touched down in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah, we were both very excited. Not quite a new country for us, but a very new place. And there is so much to see and experience here.
Kota Kinabalu greeted us with multiple street celebrations and night markets; including the excellent Api Api food market Friday and Saturday Nights on Gaya Street.
The multi cultural melting pot is striking here with an intoxicating mix of customs, manners, religion, and of course, food. Malay (Muslim), Chinese, Indian, and a mix of indigenous and intermixed cultures means that you’ll always be guessing where someone is from.
So many choices and I was very tempted by whatever this spicy beef rib meat was going into, possibly a version of beef Rendang?But we soon saw a modest line at this stall. This was the man responsible for some magic Mee Goring…we called him grandpa, as he made each batch one (or two) at a time at a very mesmerizing pace. Luckily we got in line early as it grew to near an hour behind us!And finally perfect Penang Style Mee Goring
To add to the excitement and challenges, our travels have coincided with the lunar new year celebrations in Asia. A month long celebration of the year of the (Wooden) Dragon, with the actual lunar new year on February 10th. So my challenge as the travel planner was to figure out how to work around the potential high lodging costs and travel bottlenecks of the peak of the holiday from about the 9th to 14th. More on the success of our strategy in our next post.
Visiting Asia during the Lunar New Year period means surprise festivals and celebrations pop up everywhereVery friendly locals in KK. Cheryl was thrilled to see these young ladies lion dancing.Do not miss lunch at the Sri Latha Curry House in KK. The veggie and chicken curry sets were both colorful and flavorful.The KK Wetland Ramsar Site is close on the edge of the city and has about 2km of boardwalk walkways and viewing platforms. We visited during low tide so mudskipper and crab viewing was prime. More birds at high tide.Mud boots available if you want to wade through a short muddy section off boardwalk. We passed as nothing my size (US 14!) anyway, and the walkways were sufficient.So, since India last year, I’m now a nacent birder and Borneo has an dizzying array of species. I only spotted a few of the 80 species reported just at this wetland center.Cheryl slightly bemused at my intensity on spotting the White-Collared Kingfisher from a bird blind at the wetlands center.
We like Malaysia, but it it’s always tough for us to have to rely on cars so much to get around as there is no real public transit in Sabah. Grab is the dominant ride hail App here and it works pretty well and is cheap. So we have been using it and make sure we tip well as all ride hail and delivery drivers of the world often seem to be underpaid and under appreciated.
The Sabah museum complex has two separate museums and a dozen or so outdoor buildings from various cultures of Sabah.The outdoor cultural building area of the Sabah grounds was quite nice, and we had it to ourselves. It could use a little more curation and text on each building.The Sabah Museum Complex in KK.It is hot in Borneo. So hot and so humid, but this raised indigenous house was surprisingly cool late morning…so we sat still and appreciated the wisdom of pre a/c design.There were only a few people at the small and mildly engaging Islamic Civilization Museum, but there was a sweet cat.Athée Islamic Cultural Museum, a beduk drum from Indonesia made with palm wood, cowhide, and tied with rattan …. (SF note: this would be SO cool on Hippie Hill!).Even I couldn’t resist this sweet kitty while waiting for our return Grab ride. Grab is a ride hail App that is essential in Malaysia if you are not on a tour or renting a car.
Mount Kinabalu dominates this corner of Sabah and occasionally in clear weather, mostly the mornings, you can even see it from KK. It’s also a popular summit climb and epic if it’s clear; but we decided for a number of reasons to skip it. First off; February is still the rainy season here and climbs can be rained out or miserable. I also opted to travel light for 2+ months of travel with just my trusty Ecco sandals and very light running shoes/trainers. An additional pair of size 14 hiking boots takes half my Osprey pack. Oh, and it’s a slog up and down 8,000 feet in 36 hours with a 2am wake up.
At 4,095 meters (13,500 feet) Mount Kinabalu is impressive from a sea level sunrise in KK
There are lodging options outside the park if you have a car but keeping to our blog mantra, we just used a Grab to get to the Park HQ and stayed for 2 nights at the lodging run by Santera. It’s all a bit pricy for what you get; but you are paying for a great location next to the trails, forest and park utilty road. As well as spectacular views of the mountain when clear.
We did a loop our first afternoon up the Pandanus to the Kiau View trail…probably best in the morning when you are likely to get more views. Happy on the trail in Borneo.Fungi and spores everywhere in the slightly more temperate rain forest at 1,600m.One of the many beautiful orchids in the botanical gardens.
The hiking trails were interesting, but except for the main Silau Silau Trail, not too well maintained. The small botanical gardens boardwalk loop walk is worth doing with a guide (free at 9am or 3pm) as otherwise you’ll miss a lot.
Ok; it’s a bit muddy, steep, but all is ok on our first foray into the NP forest…then it started to rain, and with rain comes leeches.We made it to the end of the trail but Cheryl was not thrilled with her two leach discoveries… we’ll spare you photo of the welt on the bottom of her foot.And then Cheryl had to remove this from between my toes…a credit card comes in handy , but this guy had his fill of my blood.
It dumped rain for hours the second afternoon and evening, making the forest and creeks rage with water. We felt bad for the climbers that had set out that morning, but perhaps they missed the worst of it by getting to the first shelter by late afternoon.
This mini Raffesia flower startled us when pointed out by some fellow hikers.The rainforest around Mount Kinabalu is stunning in some sunlight.The Medinila were one of the delightful things blooming in FebruaryA fungus city just above the forest floor.All this mushroom needs is a gnome.No leeches on Day 2 with pants tucked into socks and no rain in the morning.We were surprised to learn of the tragic death of 18 climbers on the mountain in the large 2015 earthquake. A huge rock pinnacle let go and also trapped some 100+ climbers. The lodging in the park ranges from hostel to suites, and there is a decent and pleasant restaurant open for all meals.Pitcher plants awaiting lunch.
Getting back to KK 2 days later was a bit more challenging as no Grab drivers would respond out on the remote location (not surprisingly) and we ended up booking a car back through the park HQ. It all worked out fine; but was about double the Grab rate; even with our generous App tipping.
Back in KK for two nights, we took an early boat to Mamutik Island and were able to snag the end of a picnic table in the shade and have some time to swim with some fish in peace.Our early boat out to the island. Lots of families travelling during the peak Lunar New Year holiday. Fun to let go and be part of the celebrations.Our boat captain was definitely racing the adjacent competition to the island. We won as he kicked in large twin engines…ha!
We opted for an apartment near Jettleson Quay in a giant new high rise complex as hotels had already doubled in cost with the run up to the New Year. It was conveniently just a few minutes walk to the boat docks to the islands, but was loud with concrete block echoes, and music and road noise about due to pre-holiday festivities.
Mamutik Island and Mount Kinabalu before the rest of the daytrippers arrived. Those sole footprints are mine.Monitor Lizards roam all the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park.
I had hesitations in visiting one or more of the Islands off the coast of KK after reading about overcrowding and trash issues. We didn’t want to add to the problem, but it did seem that trash issue were more discussed pre-pandemic. We also opted for just one island, as you can visit one, two, or three islands in semi scheduled service from one of many boat/tour operators. The crowds did show up later morning but it was not bad, as trash disposal was good and the water seemed clean. Kudos to the park management for this, but they still should revamp and consolidate the many competing boat services, and work on the supply side of plastic, which is everywhere and in everything in Malaysia.
We were pleasantly surprised to see good garbage control on the island and almost no trash on the beach or in the water. Lunar New Year Instagramming was part of the attraction at these busy islands. Lots of shade as the midday sun is fierce here. Only the Westerners sat on the beach in full sun, and swim costumes are modest both for cultural norms and sun protection.Very pleasant in the shade with a breeze.Happy Travellers enjoying the Lunar New Year vibe in Borneo.At Kota Kinabalu Airport heading to our next adventure in Sarawak.
Our first week in Borneo was intense. And all peak travel has its ups and downs, but the blessing of having time is to be able to smooth out the bumps and go with the flow a bit more. Sure, Lunar New Year partying meant getting less sleep a few nights in KK, but the festivals, food, and people make up for it. We’re here now and savoring every moment. Happy New Year!
It’s been over a year since we’ve been nomading, vagabonding, wandering – whatever it is we’re doing. The transitions can be very challenging, city to county side, country to country, bike touring to backpack travel again. How do we do it without burning out, or driving each other bonkers? Our secret superpower is a home base in France, thanks to wonderful friends who hopefully know how much we appreciate it. There we can swap gear, relax in familiar and comfortable surroundings (Oh, comfy couch, we love you.), and actually be in different rooms from each other! For hours!
Those are the smiles of travelers who get to be somewhere familiar and cozy, and swap out some gear.
We are super fortunate to have a private home where we can recharge, but we also have places which are familiar and comfortable that provide the same mental break. Bristol, in the UK. A city we love and have been to three times. Hove/Brighton will be one of those places as well. Both have good public transit, lots to do and see and good for getting around the area. Izmir, Turkey is probably one of the places we’ll go back to again and feel happy knowing our way around, and what we like to do and eat. Our home town of San Francisco, of course. A place where you can navigate without a map and know the bus routes and bike routes. That feels great, wherever it is.
The relief felt when encountering French bike infrastructure again is massive.
But wait, how did we get here? As Rich mentioned in the previous post, Hove to the Haute Savior takes about 13 not always easy steps, with loaded touring bikes. Trains, a ferry, rides to and from hotels, to and from trains, trains to trains, and finally a lift the last few steep miles. We love the UK, but the French have really zoomed ahead of the British with safe, comfortable bike facilities, especially in urban areas and to connect town and cities. From getting off the ferry in the dark and rain, and directly on to a protected cycle way to our hotel, to the next morning riding the riverside path that led us into Caen for our train to Paris, it felt easy and relaxed. We both breathed a sigh of relief. Oh yeah, this is fun! Bike touring with no safe route is so stressful. Bike touring with lovely pathways and signage? A joy.
Headed from Ouistreham where the ferry docks, into Caen.Arrived at Gare Paris Saint-Lazare via train. Tick off another step. Rue de Rivoli in Paris at rush hour. Headed to our hotel in the 12 arrondissement.
Let’s take a moment to recognize what an amazing transformation Paris has undergone. 10k at rush hour with loaded touring bikes and it was not at all stressful. Even though we probably caused some near misses as we stopped at red lights and the cyclists behind us kept going – there was no cross traffic so they were being safe, just not expecting the big old loaded American touring bikes to actually stop! We got the hang of it. The quiet of Rue de Rivoli was like a forest bath. The sound of voices and bike tires. No loud engines. No car horns. Just the lovely sound of people. I’ll say it again, cities aren’t loud, internal combustion engines are loud.
Gare de Lyon, waiting for our TGV platform to be announced. One night in Paris is too short a stay, but still fun.Three trains later, yada yada yada, we made it!
So, now that our legs, backs, and bottoms are totally adapted to bike touring, after four months of travel by and with bikes, let’s mix it up!
Load up that backpack, lace up the boots, and let’s Camino.
While down in town at the weekly market, where we walked with our packs which have scallop shell Camino patches on them, a young man said to us – you have a long way to go. And then after I used my one good French phrase “I’m sorry, I don’t speak French.”, he said it again in English. (Oh, to be bilingual.) Why thank you for thinking we could and would walk all the way from the French border with Switzerland to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, but no. We will actually fly to Bilbao.
My Camino pack. Getting some air.
We try quite hard to not fly places. This will be our first flight since returning from Turkey in May. Unfortunately, avoiding air travel means you must have time, and more money than the cheap flights cost. But, we do what we can, and sometimes our chosen lifestyle means airplanes.
Lunch break on our first training day out with our packs.Second day hiking. Ready for the rain. And rain it did. We were grateful to find this shelter by a glider field so we could enjoy our lunch.
With packs on and trekking poles in hands we started walking. And walking some more. Hopefully we’ll be in good enough hiking shape for the long Camino days.
Third day. Up into to the fog we go.A very helpful and beautiful orientation table at the peak of the climb. It did clear a bit on our way back.He’s ready to Camino.Practicing the Camino picnic. My Cleverhood rain cape doubles as a ground cloth for sitting.
What a place to be able to train for the Camino. The Lower Alps are simply stunning. Varied terrain, nicely signposted routes, amazing views. And beautiful cows. Making all that delicious cheese.
Respect our cows. Words to live by. Who could not respect you? Gorgeous. The Happy Travelers on our final training hike. The sun came out to bid us farewell.
By the time you read this we will be headed to Spain. We’re meeting dear friends from California to hike part of the Camino del Norte. Adiós y Buen Camino!
Tetouan seems not to be on the main tourist route here in Morocco, which is a shame. We had four great days here, enough time to fully explore the Medina, and the new town, and take two trips out of the city proper.
Our first was an afternoon trip via taxi (16 MAD, about 15 minutes, we tipped by rounding up to 20) across the river and up the hills to be dropped off near Café Ba Imran. There are some roads to walk along both in the pine trees to the left with your back to the view, and along the mountain road to the right. Tetouan has some hiking gold still to embrace. All it would take is some marked trails in the Rif mountains and tourists like us would flock in the cooler months, and summer for the tougher travelers, to hike up and marvel at the views. End with a mint tea at the cafe and then walk back down the way the taxi came up and you will catch another taxi in no time. Especially on a weekend when this is a popular family spot. We took the smaller yellow taxis and found the drivers were friendly and didn’t haggle over the price. We did have a local help us tell the driver where to go on the outbound trip. Holding up the iPhone map might have worked as well, but friendly locals to the rescue again.
The view back to town.A walk along a road under construction.
Our hill walking trip was fun and uneventful, but our next day trip was super fun and eventful. And beautiful. And eye opening.
Rich and the rental car.
We had read on another blog that renting a car and driving the coast road to El Jebha was a nice day trip out of town. Thank you other blogger whom I cannot find right now. Rich did some research and found a well recommended, responsive, and nearby rental agency, so off we went on Monday morning to drive in Morocco. This might not be a big deal for some travelers who rent cars a lot, but we prefer to travel by bus, train, or under our own power, and I don’t drive much at all so the driving falls to Rich. Thankfully we both know how to drive manual transmissions which is what you tend to get when renting outside the US.
We saw lovely promenades along beautiful but empty beaches. Oued Laou is a summer hot spot we suspect, but quiet on a November Monday.We had a second breakfast near the beach.We drove along enjoying the sights and marveling at how quickly the rural areas started.The road was obviously an important economic link for locals. There were not many cars but many people walking and shared rides/taxis in old Mercedes sedans.A lunch of grilled fish in El Jebha.The grilled fish was delicious. The oceanfront restaurant had us at pink tablecloths and potted plants.
Well, we thought after lunch as we turned around to drive the winding steep road back to Tetouan, this is working out really well. Cue laughter. We stopped to get petrol on the way back and Rich moved the car from the pumps to outside the toilets.
Yup.
When he got back in to start up again, the clutch failed. That car was not going to start or move. The makings of a panicked situation? Disaster? A big mess? No. The owner of the rental agency had a tow truck to us 20 minutes after Rich sent a WhatsApp. We shared our location, sat down for a glass of mint tea ready to wait, and Abdul was there with a tow truck in short order. Thankfully we were at a petrol station when the clutch failed, not on a narrow or steep stretch of road with no cell signal. That might have been a disaster.
Relief, and the realization that we were going to get a ride in the tow truck.
What could have been a pretty awful situation turned into another opportunity to chat with a local in a mix of Spanish and English. Abdul drove with a local radio station playing, we chatted, Rich got to enjoy the view as a passenger, the sunset was beautiful and all was well.
Riding high.The view through the windshield.
When unexpected things happen we put on our Rick Steves voice and say “Just think of it as another opportunity to connect with locals and have a different experience.”.
The happy travelers enjoying the coast before our tow truck trip.
We’re now in Chefchaouen and then on to Fes. Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends and family.
All the signs are in Welsh and English, pronunciation is tough.
Walking on the coastal path is one of our favorite things to do. Be ready for wind and rain this time of year, and be ready to be blown away by the geology. It helps to have someone drop you off at one spot, and you either hike back to home, or they generously pick you up hours later.
Looks like the setting for a good gothic novel.Terrifying view down to the ocean down a slot.This area cries out for a geologist guide to accompany you.
So how did we get here and still stick to our car lite car free ethos? Train from London to Swansea – a minus one minute transfer there where most of the train passengers started dashing to the connection to Camarthen- it was held but no one told us all that so it was a bit of a mad scramble. Our wonderful friends picked us up by car in Camarthen. There is a line to Tenby but there was no connection we could make that day.
On the busy train to Camarthen. Nice to see the trains busy.
It reminds us that to replace car use, alternatives need to be reliable, affordable, and easy to figure out. The UK has a much better passenger train system than most of the US, but when driving and flying are still cheaper and easier options, or you don’t have someone to help you out with a ride, it can be tricky to rely on trains. We’re slow traveling so we don’t mind lots of train time, but to sacrifice time and more money is a non starter for most. Non peak hours trains are much cheaper, not traveling on a Friday or Sunday – much cheaper. But if you need to travel on peak or are meeting usual office hours, you will pay more and it’s not cheap. For us, not having to rent a car (yet), and having friends who don’t mind picking us up at train stations (yet), and being willing to walk from train stations wearing our rucksacks to hotels 20 or 30 minutes from the station, means we can be as car free as we have managed. Long may we continue this.
Happy to have the flexibility to travel the way we love.And happy and lucky to have friends who live in lovely Tenby who have us to stay..
Next up? Bath, Bristol, friends in West Sussex, Leicester, and then Morocco. Rich will write about the travel planning during COVID challenges. Happy travels.
For years we’ve been thankful that we live a city life which makes travel less frightening than it is for some folks. Three things we do on a regular basis here in SF make our trips easier, less daunting, and help us have a wider variety of experiences.
Buses. Being transit friendly makes getting around a joy. My favorite transit app is Citymapper. Citymapper has opened up a world of transit that used to be quite challenging to figure out. In London, like most tourists, we would be tied to the underground, with the confusing but understandable and always available map, but now, with Citymapper we use buses a lot. You can plug in your destination and be directed to the best bus routes, shown where the stop is, and the app will ping you before it’s time for you to get off the bus. No worries about missing your stop. The best part about riding a bus is being above ground and getting to appreciate the city – especially from the top of a double decker.
Riding the bus in Honolulu.BorisBike on a London bicycle super highway. Now that’s bike infrastructure.
Bikes (of course!). Ever since I first used the Washington DC bikeshare while there for a conference years ago, and had my eyes opened about what a game changer bikeshare is, I believe that bikeshare, especially electric assist bike share, is the ultimate urban transportation. Fast, convenient, clean, space efficient. We’ve ridden bikeshares in SF, Boston, Glasgow, London, Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Honolulu, Aspen and are looking forward to many more rides in many more cities. Similar to being comfortable on public transit, being a confident and safe urban cyclist opens up a lot of experiences you might otherwise miss. If you aren’t a comfortable urban cyclist I highly recommend taking an urban skills bike course.
We were not expecting bikeshare in Aspen Colorado, it was a welcome surprise, as were the inspirational bike quotes on the back wheel skirt guards/fenders.On the Camino Ingles with an old friend and a new friend who joined us for a few miles.
Walking. Here in San Francisco we think nothing of walking a mile or two to dinner and home again. Yesterday we walked 1.2 miles to our dentist (Thank you Nikki! You rock!) had a Ramen lunch, and walked home again. While traveling we cover a lot of miles sightseeing. Our base level of walking fitness serves us well. Before traveling it’s a great plan to walk a lot so you’re ready to do 6 or 7 miles exploring a new city, and to make sure that your walking shoes are up to the task of helping you explore. And have your Citymapper app ready to help you get home if you need a boost!
A hike in Kep, Cambodia.
Being flexible with your transportation will help you have so many more experiences than when you are limited to driving or taking taxis. And, having those options will give you the confidence you need to get out and explore. Some of our best times have come not from a planned destination, but from a serendipitous find while out on bikes, buses or foot.
Less Car, More Life 